


Surrender

by writeratlarge



Series: Hooked on a Feeling (RocketxGamora) [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 06:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19762927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeratlarge/pseuds/writeratlarge
Summary: After crash-landing on an unfamiliar planet, the injured Guardians must regroup and figure out a way to escape before once again being found by their unknown aggressors.





	Surrender

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to Nitrowhale on DeviantArt for requesting this! This is part 2 to the Hooked on a Feeling series.

The raccoon figurine was smooth in his paws. Rocket admired the craftsmanship of the thing, turning it over and over to look at every detail. Someone talented made this. Someone  _ important.  _ An expert crafted this metal figurine and out of every single living and non-living thing in this galaxy, they chose to make a raccoon. So maybe there was something special about Rocket after all. Maybe he didn’t need to run from his past. 

He recalled the warmth of Gamora’s hands  as  her fingers brushed against his. She was so vulnerable at that moment. She let down all her defenses to give him a gift because she was  _ worried.  _ Gamora was worried about Rocket and she cared about his mental state. Rocket knew that now. He couldn’t believe how many moments he had taken for granted before this one; how many times had their hands grazed each other’s or their eyes connected in a shared moment of unspoken agreement? Rocket looked back on his life after he met Gamora, and he realized so much time had been wasted away from her.

_ She’s so... _

Rocket shook his head and squinted his eyes.

. _..beautiful... _

What was that bright light?

_ “ROCKET!” _

_ “Huh?” _

_ “Wake up, dammit!” _

Rocket’s eyes fluttered open and he found himself being throttled by Gamora. Slowly, the world around him became visible and he reached up, grabbing Gamora’s hands. “I’m up, okay? Lemme go!”

She set Rocket gently on the ground and sat back on her heels, watching him intently as he came fully to his senses. Rocket sat up and looked around, first noticing Gamora. He felt his stomach drop as he surveyed her wounds. There was a gash above her left eye and she continually swiped at it to prevent the blood from blinding her. He could see dark bruises already forming on her arms, where more gashes were leaking blood. “Are you okay?” he croaked, crawling towards her.

Gamora nodded calmly. “Yes. Everyone is okay. Are you?”

He had to think about that for a moment. Rocket noticed they were amidst the wreckage of their ship. Rocket’s precious goddamn ship. His jaw dropped in disbelief. The other four were gathered to the side, seemingly to assess the damage. But Rocket already knew. His baby was gone. Suddenly, he shot to his feet. “MY SHIP!” he wailed, racing towards it. He fell not even having taken five steps in the right direction. “Dammit!”

“Your leg, Rocket!” Gamora yelled, rushing to him. “Be careful!”

Groot broke away from the others and came to Rocket’s aid. “I am Groot!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Rocket grumbled, though he clearly wasn’t. His whole body hurt, but his right leg had surely gotten the worst of it. His kneecap was too bloody to see the real damage beyond it. He tried flexing it. Rocket grunted in pain and shook his head. “Ah, damn. It’s no good!”

“We need to bandage that,” Gamora said.

Peter came over now and shook his head. “It might need amputated.”

“WHAT?” Rocket cried.

Gamora shot him a glare. “Stop joking and go find some of our med kits!”

Peter held his hands up in defeat and traversed the smoldering wreckage of the ship. Drax joined him and began flipping over large hunks of metal while Mantis stood by, looking worried and shaken. Groot sat down on the ground next to Rocket and offered a sympathetic expression that truly said: I am Groot.

“What the hell happened?” Rocket asked aloud.

Gamora swiped more blood out of her eye and sat down with them. “The ship that was pursuing us shot our fuel tank, do you not remember? We crash-landed here not long after. We are lucky that the ship has not come back yet.”

“Here” was a relatively Earth-like planet. They had landed in a patch of thick forest, surrounded by extremely tall, dark-green trees. The sound of insects rattling could be heard from within the  forest . Beneath them were rough, dense smatterings of what seemed like moss. The dirt beneath it was tinted green. Above them, the sky was bright and yellow ish . It was hard to tell if the “sun” (whatever light source this planet had) was going to set or was already rising.

“Jesus, I  musta hit my head pretty hard...” Rocket rubbed his eyes. The dream he had before waking was fading fast, and he could barely remember the soft brush of her fingers. He looked up at Gamora and saw a hardened expression on her face. This was one to which he was accustomed. She was doing her best to not explode and take control over everything  _ just yet.  _ A small smile tugged at the corners of Rocket’s mouth. “At least we’re all still kicking.”

Gamora sighed and nodded, letting her shoulders slump. She didn’t care how immediately after she opened her eyes, she began clawing through the wreckage to find Rocket. No one else mattered to her at that moment. She tried not to remember the raw panic that had gripped her body when she found him, broke and bloody under a hunk of metal. Gamora wanted to reach out and touch him again, just to make sure he was  _ really  _ there . Just to feel his fur again. But she decided against it. Rocket was already angry about the ship. She didn’t want to  aggravate him further. 

“Why the hell were we being chased?” Rocket said, startling Gamora out of her thoughts.

She looked at the ship. “It must have been the gun.”

“I am Groot.”

“Maybe,” Rocket replied, but he didn’t seem convinced. Why would someone (or something) pursue them so vehemently for a gun that was (as far as they knew) almost out of charge? Besides, hadn’t the six of them basically wiped out those damn scavengers entirely? Rocket knew now wasn’t the time to voice all those concerns, but he did it anyway. “But I don’t think so! I mean, didn’t we kill all those guys? And the gun was just sitting in a pile of shit anyway, it couldn’t have been that important!”

Gamora opened her mouth to say something, but Peter cut her off: “Your guess is as good as mine!” he said, walking over and tossing a medkit at his feet. “I have no idea what the hell that ship wanted. Let’s just get out of here before it comes back.”

“Easier said than done, Quill,” Rocket replied. “My beautiful ship is totaled! How are we gonna get outta here?”

“How do you know it’s totaled?”

“The fucking engine is in that tree!”

Peter looked. “Oh. Huh.”

Gamora pried open the medkit and pulled out a roll of bandages. “There is no sense in fighting about it now. We need to regroup before we worry about moving on. Have you found anything else yet?”

Peter shook his head. “Nah.  Gotta keep looking. Groot, you mind helping me move the heavier stuff?”

“I am Groot.”

The two of them disappeared back to the ship. Rocket turned to Gamora and saw her holding the bandage  in her hands. She looked down at his leg then back up at his face. “Do you mind?”

“You wanna bandage me up?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you bandage yourself up first?” Rocket said, motioning to her arms. “I’m not the only one who got banged up.”

Gamora pursed her lips. She wanted to say  ‘ _ well, I'm stronger and I can handle it _ _ ’ _ __ but she knew that would offend Rocket. Instead, she gently shook her head. “I think I should bandage your knee up first. It looks worse than any of my injuries.”

Rocket tried to protest again, but Gamora was already reaching towards him to begin. He shut his mouth as she began to bind his knee. She pulled on the bandage and Rocket grunted in pain. “Hey, take it easy!”

“Sorry,” she said. Gamora hesitated for a moment. “I am not  intentionally trying to hurt you.”

“Well, of course not,” Rocket replied. He noticed her worried expression. “Just... go slower. It hurts.”

She nodded and started again. Gamora kept her hands steady as she wrapped the bandage around Rocket’s bloody leg , slower this time . The blood was already soaking through the first few layers of bandage. She paused and grimaced. “Rocket, this will hurt. I need to wrap it tighter to stop the bleeding.”

He sighed. “Ah, damn. Just go for it.”

“Do you want to... hold onto my arm?” she asked, jutting her elbow towards him.

Rocket looked at her arm. He didn’t want to cry out like a baby when she wrapped up his knee, so holding onto something would help. Cautiously, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around her forearm. Gamora leaned forward and worked quickly. She wrapped the bandage tightly around his wounded leg. Rocket groaned in pain and gripped her arm harder.  After a few more agonizing moments, she had finished her work. Rocket breathed heavily, still gripping her arm.

“All done,” she said reassuringly.

Rocket took one more gulp of air and nodded, finally letting go of her arm. Gamora watched him with the same pained expression she had worn since he woke up. He wiped his mouth with the back of his paw and forced a smile. “It wasn’t so bad, eh? Thanks.”

She nodded, eyes lingering on him for a few seconds longer before standing up. “I will go see how everyone else is. Please rest.”

Rocket watched her go, feeling remiss. Of course,  _ he,  _ the most qualified person to fix the ship, was incapacitated. Their only hope was Peter and that wasn’t very promising. Rocket rested back on his elbows and stared up at the yellow sky. He breathed deeply. Suddenly, this adventure wasn’t so... fun. Rocket loved danger. He loved fights-  _ especially  _ shoot-outs. But now? He just wanted to go back to his room (now destroyed) and sleep for a while. It was painful to see how anxious Gamora was. Maybe they  _ all  _ needed a break. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like that was going to happen.

Groot wandered over and let a pile of metal fall from his arms to the ground in front of Rocket. “I am Groot...”

“Aw, thanks buddy,” Rocket said, positioning himself to see it better. It was the dismantled anti-gravity gun. “It looks like you found all the pieces! Hey, maybe we can just float ourselves off this planet...”

Groot was amused by the joke. 

The others continued to scavenge the remains of the ship for a few more hours, ending up with only three med kits, seven weapons, a tool box, one week’s worth of food, and Peter’s cassette player. Gamora wiped the sweat from her brow and shouldered a large gun. “It seems we will have to build a shelter until further notice.”

Peter frowned. “I can’t believe the ship’s no good. We can’t just  _ stay  _ here.”

“Well, there is nothing we can do about it now,” Gamora countered.

From his place on the ground, Rocket spoke up. “Gamora’s right. We  gotta focus on getting ourselves set up here for now. Who knows what kind of shit roams this place?”

“Yeah,” Peter relented. “We might encounter stuff twice our size given the height of those trees.”

Mantis shivered and crossed her arms. “I do not like the idea of that!”

“I have killed things three times my size!” Drax boasted. “I will be okay.” 

“I am Groot!”

“Regardless,” Gamora said, calling the attention back to herself. “We need a shelter first. Drax, Mantis, Peter and I will collect supplies. Groot and Rocket, stay by the ship.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Rocket interrupted. “I don’t  wanna lay here and be useless. You gotta give me something to do.”

She furrowed her brow and thought about it. What Gamora truly wanted was to stand guard by Rocket’s side while the others did the collecting, but that was a waste of her skills and she knew her focus should be on  _ everyone’s  _ safety, not just Rocket’s. Rocket looked up at her with pleading eyes. She didn’t want to admit it, but it was hard to not give him exactly what he wanted at that moment. But she compromised. “The four of us will bring the building supplies back to you two and you will start assembling the shelter. You cannot walk far until your leg heals.”

Rocket opened his mouth to say something, then shut it and nodded silently. With that, Gamora signaled for the group to begin moving. She and Peter went to the right and Drax and Mantis went to the left. They ventured into the dense forest, weapons out. The mossy ground beneath their feet was a pleasant cushion for their steps, resulting in little noise. The light was sparse in the thicket of trees, shining only through infrequent cracks in the canopy above. Peter flicked on his flashlight and swept it slowly back and forth at their path ahead.

Gamora glanced at him and stopped, bending down to pick up some thick sticks on the ground. Peter did the same. “Hey,” he said gently. “You okay?”

“Yes,” she said curtly.

Peter raised his eyebrows. “Well I  _ know  _ that’s not the truth. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” she repeated. “That is such a stupid question. We have crashed on some unknown planet, the ship is destroyed, and Rocket is badly injured. Peter, everything is wrong.”

He nodded and sighed. “Gamora, I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know what to tell you. This situation sucks. But we  gotta ... I  dunno . You’re the glue that holds this group together, I think.  As long as you’re here, we’re gonna be okay.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Thank you, Peter. That was... helpful.”

Peter didn’t say anything more and instead offered a small smirk. She returned it and they continued walking deeper into the trees. Yes, what Peter said certainly quelled her. He always knew how to say the most flattering things. She couldn’t deny that. But as she stole glances his way as they walked, she felt a disturbance in her thoughts again. Why had he killed that shopkeeper? The question wouldn’t go away. Every time she looked into his  eyes; she remembered the moment he pulled that trigger on that innocent being. Why?

Peter was changing. Slowly. She noticed some small things here and there. Some changes in his attitude. Most of the time, he was still the Peter she had grown to love. Like when he put his own plans aside to cheer Rocket up, or just a few moments ago. But other times, he seemed... impatient. More impatient than usual, that is. He acted like he was getting tired of waiting for something to happen, but what? Gamora didn’t know. 

She looked away and picked up another stick, recalling Rocket’s tight grip on her arm.

***

“It’s  gotta be here somewhere, Groot!” Rocket moaned, digging through the scraps of the ship. “Come on!”

“I am Groot!” Groot warned, trailing Rocket.

He scoffed. “I’m fine, okay? I just need the... thing. Where did you find the gun? It can’t be too far from there! Show me.”

Groot complied and lead Rocket further to the left of the wreckage. Rocket limped after him frantically, eyes darting around. If he didn’t find that figurine, he was surely going to lose his mind. After all this loss, all Rocket wanted was the figurine. He wasn’t going to lose a gift from Gamora so easily. He swore he’d search the ship until his paws bled. 

Groot halted and motioned to the area. Rocket immediately began sifting through the things on the ground, and Groot joined him. He barely breathed as he searched for the figurine, clenching his teeth against the screaming pain emanating from his leg. After twenty more minutes of what seemed like hopeless searching, Rocket spotted a small metallic object sticking into the earth. He bounded over, cursing absentmindedly at the pain, and dug around it. He pulled out nothing but a bent scrap of metal, probably from the hull of the ship. Rocket tossed it on the ground and spit in its direction.

“There’s no goddamn use,” he sighed. “The one nice thing I get and boom. It’s just gone.”

“I am Groot,” Groot comforted, laying a gentle hand on Rocket’s shoulders. “I am Groot.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rocket sat down again and rested his leg. “You think they  woulda put me together a bit better, huh?”

Groot shrugged.

Rocket did his best to keep in the scream he so desperately wanted to release from his throat and into the open air. Losing the raccoon figurine hurt more than he could describe. All the warm feelings he had felt when Gamora gave it to him- the appreciation, the pleasant surprise, the  _ love _ \- were simply gone with it. He was bitter. In fact, Rocket wouldn’t say it out loud, but it was almost as bad as losing the ship. Actually, it was almost  _ worse  _ than losing the ship. It was like the emotions him and Gamora had shared were completely gone. Back at square one.

“Maybe I’ll look again later,” he finally said. Rocket directed his gaze to the tree line. “They better get back soon. Who knows when the hell we’re  gonna run out of  light ? I don’t want them all out there when it’s  pitch black.”

“I am Groot.”

Rocket looked up at the sky and scowled. “I hope so.”

***

“The hell was that?”

Gamora turned to look in Peter’s direction. “What?”

“I saw something.” Peter retrieved his gun and aimed it into the expanse of trees. “I swear I just saw something move.”

“Where?” she asked, taking out her gun too. 

Peter nodded in the direction he pointed his gun. “Something moving in between the trees.”

“How big was it?”

“Uh... medium-sized, maybe.”

Gamora resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that answer and came to his side, pointing her gun in the same direction. They waited, still, with bated breath. Whatever Peter saw didn’t seem to want to make a reappearance. Gamora strained to listen beyond the faint buzz of hidden insects and her own breathing, but she heard nothing. Perhaps Peter was mistaken. It wouldn’t the first time he-

“LOOK OUT!” Peter bellowed, firing into the trees.

Gamora noticed it immediately: a big, hulking thing among the trees. It was impossible to tell exactly what it was due to the poor lighting, but she would much rather it remain an ambiguous dark shape than see it up close. She and Peter ceased their fire and looked around. “Where’d it go?” Peter breathed, turning in circles.

As if in response to his question, they heard a loud grunt from their right and the sound of cracking sticks and shrubbery. The thing was now racing towards them. Gamora and Peter dove out of the way as it barreled between them. Gamora rolled and was on her feet in an instant, firing several shots at the thing. It barely had time to turn around before she hit it fatally in the head. The thing grunted again and slumped over, dead.

Peter got  up; eyes wide. “Holy shit. You got it!”

Gamora approached the thing carefully, still aiming her gun at it. Peter aimed his flashlight too. It had the general appearance of a bear, but none of the fur. Instead, the beast was covered in a tough, scaly skin that resembled the color of the moss on the ground. It was no wonder the thing was so hard to see among the trees. It blended in quite well.

“Medium-sized, huh?” she muttered.

Peter approached and kicked it in the side. “ Well ,  at least  it’s dead. Huh. It’s like a bear combined with a lizard. A lear. Wait! No! A  _ blizzard!” _

“We should go back now,” Gamora said.

Peter shrugged and went after her.

***

Drax and Mantis were already back when Peter and Gamora returned. With their combined efforts, there was enough material to build a simple shelter. Because there was no telling when they would be out of light, Peter and Gamora prepared a rushed dinner while the other four began assembling the shelter. Gamora could tell almost immediately that Rocket’s mood had worsened since she had last seen him, but there was no time to have a heart-to-heart like before. She brought him food and he muttered thanks, barely looking at it.

Three hours later, they had eaten, and the shelter was, for the most part, finished. It was  a  hodge-podge of scrap metal from the ship, sticks, vines, and moss, but a shelter, nonetheless. They would have to keep close quarters in this makeshift shack. They sat around a fire while Peter recounted their encounter with the lizard bear (“Blizzard,” as he referred to it). 

Mantis looked horrified. “Do you think there’s more out there?”

“Yes,” Gamora replied, clearly not as excited as Peter about the story. “We will have to keep a lookout for them. Peter and I may have been able to take one down alone, but if they come in a large group, there will be trouble.”

The group agreed but the conversation died down soon after. Even though the night didn’t seem to be approaching, the six of them retired to the shelter. They settled into a fitful slumber (except Drax, who slept like a baby and snored like a father). 

Rocket waited, eyes closed until he was sure everyone had fallen asleep. He was exhausted himself, but he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep no matter how hard he tried. Not if he didn’t have the figurine with him. He crept out of the shelter and back out into the open. There was still plenty of light to see by, but it was starting to slowly fade. He limped back to the heart of the wreckage and resumed his search for the figurine. He went over the area where Groot found the weapon feverishly, checking again and again in the same spots. It had to be here  _ somewhere! _

In his frantic state of mind, Rocket didn’t hear the slow steps approaching behind him. Gently, Gamora said: “What are you looking for?”

The hair on the back of Rocket’s neck stood up and he didn’t look at her. “Nothin’. Don’t worry about it. You should go back to sleep.”

“You should too,” she replied. “Your leg is never going to heal if you keep straining yourself like this.”

Rocket had  often been reminded of his short temper throughout the years. It caused fights. It hurt people. It hurt him. But it was just how he was, and when his blood started to boil and someone provoked him, he couldn’t help but explode. “I don’t  fucking care about my leg, okay? Leave me the hell alone!”

Gamora winced bitterly at the outburst but remained calm. He whipped his head at her, breathing hard, eyes narrowed. She didn’t know what was causing him so much emotional pain, but she could see the extent of it in his expression. Again, she felt the urge to fall to her knees and wrap him into her arms. Gamora exhaled and said: “Can I help you look?”

Rocket’s shoulders slumped and his gaze fell to her feet. He took a moment before answering her. “Yeah, if you wanna. I’m... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. I’m just frustrated, you know? Today has been such a shit show.”

“I know,” she said, dropping to her knees beside him. “It has been hard on all of us.”

“Hmmph. Got that right.”

“What are you looking for?”

Rocket felt a little embarrassed. He doubted himself in his memories of the moment in his room when Gamora had given him the figurine. What if she hadn’t felt as strongly as he did? He swallowed thickly and said: “The uh... the raccoon figurine you gave me. I just... I want it. It has to be around here somewhere.”

Rocket couldn’t bear to look at her reaction, but if he did, he would have seen a look of sad surprise on her face. She hadn’t thought about the figurine at all since they crashed. Was this what had been worrying him so much? Now she  _ really  _ wanted to reach down and scoop him into a hug. She didn’t realize how much Rocket treasured the gift. How much he appreciated the gesture. It warmed her heart  to  a degree nothing else had before. For the first time in a long time, Gamora felt truly... loved. 

“We will find it,” she said suddenly, crawling forward on the ground to search a nearby pile of junk. “I promise, Rocket.”

He glanced at her and couldn’t help but smile. She was truly wonderful, wasn’t she? He paused his search to admire her in the dimming light. She was bent over on her hands and knees, ass in the air, rifling through the metal on the ground. Rocket was finally able to take a moment and appreciate the slender curvature of her body. Of course, he had always known Gamora was beautiful, he just hadn’t consciously acknowledged it.  But i t was impossible to look at Gamora and not admire her striking features. Rocket tilted his head, looking for a better angle of her body as she worked.

Gamora  was well aware that he was staring at her. She always had a keen sense for that sort of thing. She also had an idea of  _ why  _ he might be staring at her, but she wasn’t going to give it away. In fact, she wasn’t at all uncomfortable in his gaze. Subconsciously, she had been waiting for this kind of attention from Rocket for a while now. She felt differently than when Peter stared at her like this. Gamora felt her heart beginning to pound a little harder than normal. She arched her back to give Rocket a better view. 

Rocket appreciated the effort. He was close to piping up and asking her to  _ move a little to the left, please  _ so he could her breasts too, but he decided against it. For now, they would play this silent game. Rocket lazily moved to look for the figurine, but he was much too distracted now. He glanced down at the dirt to appear busy, then back up at Gamora. She had crawled a little further ahead, still bent over in the same position that gave much such a nice view. Rocket licked his lips. She was trying to tease him, wasn’t she? What would she do if he came up behind her and-

“Rocket!” Gamora yipped, falling back on her heels. “I found it!”

“What?” He shook his head to come out of his lustful stupor. “Seriously?”

She turned and held out her hand. In her palm was the figurine. It was mostly unharmed from the crash, just more bent than it had been before. Rocket scrambled over and took it from her, inspecting it in his own paws. “Wow, it’s not even that bad.”

“I am glad it survived the crash,” she replied, grinning.

Rocket looked up from the figurine and met her happy gaze. He broke out into a grin. “Thank you so much, Gamora.”

She nodded, still smiling. She had found it a few minutes prior to her outburst but decided to keep quiet for just a bit longer so he could enjoy her body. She still felt a buzz from his gaze. He was looking her in the eye, but she could tell he wished to drag his gaze downwards to her chest. She would have welcomed it. But the light of day was rapidly disappearing, and she worried more for their survival. If Peter weren’t sleeping in the shelter just fifty feet away, she may have given in to her desire and bent over again for Rocket.

“Well,” she said reluctantly. “Do you think you will be able to sleep now?”

He looked a tad bit disappointed. “Oh, yeah. I think I can. I was just worried about this.” He held the figurine in the air. “You need to get some sleep too, you know.”

“Yes,” Gamora agreed. She directed her eyes to the sky and saw many stars beginning to appear. She sighed deeply. “It is nice to look at up there.”

Rocket stared at her with no shame. “Oh, yeah it is.”

She kept looking up. “Maybe we could sleep out here so we can see all the stars.”

“Yeah,” he replied again. Rocket didn’t give a shit about the stars. He was still tense with desire, wishing she’d forget about everything else and give him some more attention. But if she wanted to sleep out under the stars with him, he damn sure wasn’t going to stop her. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Carefully, the two of them cleared an area in the middle of the wreckage and laid down, side by side. They stared up at the sky, watching more and more of the galaxy above them become visible as the day melted into the night. Neither of them thought of the “blizzards” that may be lurking in the forest. They felt comforted enough by each other’s presence. Rocket’s eyes began to get heavy and he yawned. 

Gamora glanced his way and smiled. She was quite tired now and the sexual energy was beginning to fade. Rocket’s eyes slipped closed and his breathing steadied. She watched him fall asleep, admiring his fur under the starlight. She tried not to look at his injured leg, as it pained her to see. Instead, Gamora focused on his peaceful expression as he slept. She was beyond relieved that she was able to find the figurine. She wanted him to have it just as much as he wanted to have it. The figurine, she felt, was a symbol of their shared feelings. She was sure of that. 

Gamora fell asleep  not long after Rocket, and just before she lost consciousness, slipped her hand into his paw. 

***

Rocket’s eyes shot open as a great mechanical whirring noise startled him awake.  He quickly recoiled at a bright light shining in his face. Gamora was calling his name. For a moment, he believed he was dreaming of the exact events of the time before when he had just woken up after the crash. But instead of Gamora’s violent shaking, Rocket found her huddled to one side, desperately searching the ground for something. He looked up and saw a spaceship in the sky, its lights trained on the two of them. He understood what was happening and shot up. His leg protested, but he moved quickly. 

“I need a weapon!” Gamora shouted, finally on her feet. She seemed not quite awake and shook her head quickly. Next, she yelled: “WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!”

Peter, Groot, and Drax were already stumbling their way out of the shelter. The craft hovered in the sky; lights trained on the group. It was still very much night, but the ship’s lights made their small camp feel as though it was day. Peter tossed two guns at Gamora and Rocket and aimed his own. He stood next to her, squinting against the lights. “You okay?” he asked.

“What the hell’s it doing?” Rocket interrupted before Gamora could speak. He did his best to stand up. “Why aren’t we getting blown to bits?”

Gamora glanced at him. “I do not know. But it is the same type of ship that shot us down.”

“I am Groot!”

Rocket cocked his gun. “Well, I don’t wanna wait around for them to make the first move.”

“Hold on,” Gamora ordered. “Hold on for one more moment.”

They waited there, amongst the wreckage of their ship, underneath the bright lights of the alien craft. Each of them knew that despite their weapons, they could easily be killed. They stood no chance against the metal behemoth that hovered above them, blotting out the beautiful stars that Gamora and Rocket had admired hours before. The group waited with bated breath, fingers on their triggers. For a minute, it seemed as though time stopped. Nothing moved.

Then, a voice came booming from the ship: “YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR THE MURDER OF THE GRAND KEEPER. SURRENDER YOUR WEAPONS NOW AND SUBMIT TO US.”

Peter’s face scrunched. “Grand who?”

Gamora’s stomach dropped and she turned to look at Peter, eyes wide and full of disbelief. She knew exactly what this was about . Her jaw dropped and she shouted: “The shop keeper, Quill!”

His eyes met hers and the same expression of slack shock settled onto his face. “Oh, shit.”

“What?” Rocket yelled. “You’re telling me Peter killed some kind of royalty?!”

“Yes,” Gamora snapped. “And look where it has gotten us!”

“I didn’t fucking know!” Peter replied.

The authoritarian voice from the ship echoed out again: “YOU HAVE ONE MORE CHANCE TO SURRENDER YOUR WEAPONS AND FACE JUDGEMENT. ANY RESISTANCE WILL BE MET WITH FORCE.”

They looked around at each other, unmoving. They were trapped. Gamora slowly lowered her weapon. Peter furrowed his brow and asked: “What are you doing?”

“We have no choice,” Gamora hissed. “We either die now or die later. I will take my chances in the future.”

Peter stuttered out a reply, but it was useless. The others all lowered their weapons. He had no choice but to comply. Seeing that it was done, the ship descended to the ground, blasting the group with a harsh whip of air. They covered their faces to avoid the dust that came their way. Once the ship had grounded, a side door opened, and a staircase collapsed out onto the ground. A line of beings marched out. They were each at least seven feet tall, sporting a dark grey utilitarian uniform and large gun each. Their faces were obscured by matching helmets. This was no random civilization on the outskirts of the galaxy; these beings were powerful and organized.

The beings surrounded the group and retrieved what appeared to be sets of heavy silver handcuffs from their belts. They closed in on the group.

“Why are we all being arrested for Quill’s mistake?” Rocket muttered. No one seemed to hear him. He looked at Gamora and felt a deep sense of agitation at her resigned expression. Why was she so keen on giving up right away? Surely, they had been in worse situations. It was true that most of the group was injured and not yet recovered from the crash and t hey had little supplies , b ut Rocket was always prepared to fight tooth and nail against authority.

This time would be no different.

As the first set of handcuffs were secured onto Peter, Rocket raised his gun. “GAMORA, RUN!” he shouted, firing at one of the being’s heads.

Chaos and gunfire immediately erupted. Gamora had no chance to process what had happened before she felt Rocket tugging on her hand. Suddenly, she was sprinting into the trees, Rocket at her side. They ran until the gunfire was barely able to be heard in the distance. After what felt like an hour of running, Rocket groaned and collapsed onto the ground. Gamora skidded to a halt and fell to her knees beside him. “Rocket!”

“My damn leg!” he moaned, clutching it. “It’s no good! Keep running!”

“Not without you!” she snapped. Without another word, Gamora scooped Rocket into her arms and carried on running blindly into the trees. She wasn’t worried about what creatures lurked inside this endless forest, nor was she worried about what had happened to the others. Gamora’s focus was getting Rocket to safety.

She ran for quite a distance before stopping, unsure of whether it was a good place to rest but knowing she could go no further. Gamora found a cluster of tall bushes and hid around one side of them. She carefully set Rocket on the ground and fell next to him, breathing heavily. Rocket propped himself on his elbows and coughed. “Jesus, are you okay?”

“Yes,” she said in between breaths, turning her head to him. “What you did was stupid and reckless.”

He nodded. “Everything I do is stupid and reckless. I just couldn’t let them get you.”

Gamora took some time to catch her breath before she replied to him. “We have to go back for the others.”

“I can’t go any further,” Rocket whispered. His voice was strained. “I want to help you, but I’ll just be dead weight. Leave me here.”

“We have no idea what is out here! I cannot just leave you by yourself when you are injured. I will carry you.”

He shook his head. “Come on, Gamora. Don’t kid yourself. You’ll get a lot further without having to worry about me. Go save our friends, okay?”

“ _ No!”  _ she cried; her voice nearly breaking. Rocket drew back in shock. “No, Rocket! I am not going to leave you! I do not want to! The others can fend for themselves!  _ I am staying here with you! _ ”

He had no response. Rocket hadn’t seen Gamora so passionate before . She was somehow ethereally beautiful under the sparse starlight, sweat dripping down her forehead, chest heaving. Was she truly willing to leave the others in the hands of those things? Just to lay here in this uncomfortable bush in this dangerous, unknown place? Just drop everything and stay by his side? His eyes darted around her face, and he could tell she meant it. She was flustered and scared, but she meant it. “Gamora...”

“You cannot change my mind,” she cut him off, laying back down. “The others will be okay. They are strong.”

“...and I’m not?”

“You are  _ hurt,  _ Rocket,” __ she said quickly. “You were injured the most in the crash. Yes, you are strong. One of the strongest beings I have ever met. But not like this.”

Her honesty was like a jab in his side, but he could not argue with her. Rocket knew he had worsened his injury by running like that. However, he would have done it a million times over if it meant Gamora would be safe. He laid back down too and dug his nails into the dirt, trying to bear the horrific waves of pain that cascaded from his  h ip to his foot and crested at his knee. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he was back at the wreckage of the ship, peacefully falling asleep next to Gamora under the stars. But he was worried about the others. Gamora was right about them being strong, but no one knew of what those aliens were capable. The uncertainty of their fate twisted Rocket’s stomach. Even Quill’s fate, despite it being his fault for this entire mess. 

He looked at Gamora and saw her eyes were closed. Almost on instinct, Rocket felt his pockets for the figurine. It was still there. He traced his fingers along the outline of it for comfort. As he did so, he carefully reached over and put his paw in Gamora’s hand. Her reaction was slow, but she closed her fingers around his. They laid there in the bush silently.

***

Four hours passed before Gamora and Rocket ventured back in the direction they had come. Rocket clung to Gamora’s back like a backpack, an easy compromise for the two of them. Her hands could remain free and he didn’t have to walk. As they slunk through the forest, they looked around furiously for any sign of the beings that had captured their friends. Nothing much was to be seen, except for the occasional “blizzard,” which Gamora carefully avoided. After quite a bit of walking, the tree line was in sight. Gamora stopped and hid behind a tree, looking out into the area which the wreckage of their ship sat.

“I do not see anything,” she whispered.

Rocket nodded. “Looks like they left.”

Gamora hesitated for a few moments longer before creeping out into the clearing. There was no sign of the others, but it was clear the wreckage of their ship had been searched through again. Many things were either missing or displaced. Their shelter had been destroyed, pockmarked with large bullet holes. The ground was in a similar state. Luckily, after some inspection, Gamora didn’t notice much bloodshed. A few drops here and there, and a pile over there. Nothing that indicated a fatal gunshot wound. She craned her neck to see Rocket. “I cannot believe they just left. They must be searching for us somewhere.”

“Yeah, probably,” he answered. “Let’s just take what we can and get the hell out of dodge again.”

Quickly, Gamora gathered up any remaining supplies, which consisted only of one medkit, a toolbox, and a broken gun. She headed straight for the opposite side of the tree line and walked for some time before finding an adequate place to stop. She set Rocket down beside a small hill and opened the medkit. “I am going to redress your wound, okay?”

“Alright,” he muttered, positioning himself so that she had access to his wounded leg. 

Gamora worked fast to undo his bandage, which clung to his fur with dry blood. His injury was not any better. She rewrapped it, wincing at his muffled cries of pain. When the deed was done, she grabbed his paw and squeezed it gently. “From now on, you will not strain yourself.”

His shoulders sagged. “I know, I know. But I can’t sit here and be useless to you.”

“You are not useless,” she replied. Gamora pushed the toolbox and broken weapon in front of Rocket. “Because you can fix this. We will need it  for protection .”

A small smile crept onto Rocket’s face and he nodded. He grabbed the gun and began inspecting it. Gamora stood up and looked around. It was still quite dark out, and it was even darker amongst the trees. That was likely to their benefit. They needed to stay hidden until they were sure those beings were gone. “I’m going to try and build another small shelter,” Gamora said. “I will stay in your sight.”

“Let me know if I can help at all,” Rocket said, not looking up from the gun. He finally had a proper distraction from his pain. Gamora nodded and stepped away, once again gathering sticks and vines. The two of them worked without speaking. By the time Gamora had constructed a much smaller version of their previous shelter, Rocket had nearly fixed the gun. “It might stutter a bit if you try a burst,” he explained, handing it to her. “But it should be good for some controlled shots.”

“Thank you,” she replied. Gamora sat down next to him. “We need to come up with a plan now.”

“Well, we still  ain’t got no way to get off this planet,” Rocket said. “If the ship wasn’t beyond repair before, it certainly is now. And we have even fewer supplies.”

His pessimism was disconcerting, but he was right, nonetheless. Gamora sighed. “Well, we cannot just sit here and wait to be captured or killed.”

Rocket’s eyes lit up and he laughed a little. “Actually, that’s  _ exactly  _ what we should do!”

“What?”

“Those things are probably still looking for us,” he explained, becoming more animated. “And since there’s only two of us, they’ll probably send a smaller ship. We wait for them to come to us, and if they don’t immediately gun us down, we steal the ship!”

Gamora crossed her arms. “That plan relies a lot on  _ probably _ .”

“Yeah, but I think it’s our best option.”

“How are we going to steal the ship with one gun?”

Rocket paused. “Hmm. I’m sure we’ll improvise once we get aboard. Trust me, I’ve done a lot more with just one gun.”

The plan was certainly a long shot, but Gamora couldn’t help but nod along with it. She knew he was capable of great escapes (she had witnessed more than a few of them herself). “Okay,” she relented. “That will be our plan. But until then, you need as much rest as possible. Both of us will have to be ready for a fight.”

Rocket grinned. “I’m always ready for a fight.”

***

The two of them didn’t have to wait much longer before their plan could be enacted. Day still hadn’t come six hours later, but a familiar mechanical whirring sound did. The sound became louder and louder as it traveled in the vicinity of Rocket and Gamora’s makeshift camp. They woke up from their light sleep immediately and gathered their supplies. The gun was small enough to be hidden on Gamora’s body, underneath her jacket. Most of the fight would rely on her ability and she stretched in preparation. This could very well be the end of their lives. 

Gamora looked at Rocket and felt somewhat hopeful.

They left their shelter and positioned themselves in a more visible area amongst the trees. The sound of the ship was getting louder, and soon, Gamora and Rocket could see its spotlight through the trees. They  glanced at each other and nodded; bodies strained with anticipation. The ship was approaching. Within just moments, its spotlight would shine on them and they would either be apprehended or immediately killed. 

The ship finally came into view above the trees, creating a great gust of wind that disturbed the forest below. Gamora held her breath. She almost expected the bullets to come raining down upon them. If she were them, she would certainly waste no time taking prisoners. But the ship simply hovered once its lights shone on the two of them. No bullets came. That was likely the easiest part of the plan: just don’t die. 

“Almost there,” Rocket muttered under his breath, supporting himself on a stick. 

The same loud voice echoed out of the ship:  “YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR THE MURDER OF THE GRAND KEEPER. SURRENDER YOUR WEAPONS NOW AND SUBMIT TO US.”

Gamora and Rocket held their hands high in the air to signify they had no weapons. The ship hovered for a few minutes longer, then descended between the trees. Rocket had been right in his assumption; this ship was smaller than the original. It landed and again, a line of the utilitarian beings marched from the ship and apprehended them. The same large, mechanical handcuffs were secured onto Rocket and Gamora (luckily leaving their hands in front of their bodies), and they were led onto the ship.

The interior of the ship was sleek and metallic. Rocket surveyed his surroundings carefully, mapping out the fastest route to the controls. The beings directed Gamora and Rocket to the back of the ship, where a few holding cells were. They stopped just outside the metal bars. One of the beings pointed with its gun, motioning for Gamora to step inside.

Instead, she headbutted it.

Although it was wearing a helmet, the impact was enough to knock  the thing  backward. In the small instant she had before the others reacted, Gamora twisted her arms and retrieved the gun from her pocket. She fired at the beings around her. 

Rocket took off towards the pilot of the ship. He promised Gamora that this would be his last push before finally letting his leg heal. The pain tore up his body, but he clenched his teeth and ignored it. Rocket pounced on the pilot of the ship and slammed its head against the control panel. This being wasn’t wearing a helmet like the others. It had a dark blue tone to its skin and a sharp nose (which was now smashed and bloody). The pilot slumped out of its chair, unconscious. Rocket took its place and shut all doors to the ship. “WE’RE GOING UP!” he cried to Gamora, yanking the steering device upwards.

The ship lurched violently, knocking the beings off their feet. Gamora took the opportunity to retrieve one of their guns. A being got to its feet quickly and dove at Gamora, throwing her against the left wall. She cursed and shot at it, missing narrowly. It tossed a punch that connected with her jaw. She lost her footing and slipped. As the being attempting to grab one of the weapons scattered on the ground, Gamora kicked its legs. It fell next to her and she climbed on top, aiming her weapon at it and shooting.

The commotion stopped and Gamora got to her feet, breathing hard. “All clear!” she yelled.

“I’ll open the door so you can dump the bodies!” Rocket replied. On cue, one of the doors slid open. Gamora dragged the bodies and pushed them out of the ship, not bothering to watch them plummet fifty feet to the ground. She dug into one of the being’s uniform and found a set of metal keys, which she used to unlock her handcuffs. Gamora finally made her way to the front of the ship and unlocked Rocket’s cuffs too. “Worked out perfectly,” Rocket chuckled, rubbing his wrists.

Gamora grinned. “I would love to celebrate, but we should leave before more of these things come after us.”

Rocket turned back to the control panel and closed the door to the ship. Gamora gripped the back of his seat as he directed the ship away from the planet and out into the atmosphere. They finally broke out into space and Gamora felt an immense weight lifted off her shoulders. Surely the worst was yet to come, but in that moment, she just enjoyed her and Rocket’s victory. Rocket glanced at her. “We make a great team, you know that?”

“Yes,” she said. “ Yes, we do.”

“So, our next phase is finding out where the hell this ship came from,” Rocket said. “And getting the band back together.”

Gamora admired his sudden confidence. It was a stark contrast to the sorry soul who begged her to leave him behind. Seeing Rocket in his element warmed her heart. She hadn’t lied when she told him that he was one of the strongest beings she’d ever met. In fact, he may have been  _ the _ strongest (and not just physically). Absentmindedly, one of her hands reached down and laid reassuringly on his shoulder as he piloted the ship. “Easy, right?” she said, laughing a little.

He nodded. “With the two of us? A piece of cake.”

Rocket directed the ship for a while longer before turning on auto-pilot. He scrambled out of the chair and limped over to Gamora, who sat near the back, rifling through the ship’s supplies. “Anything good?” he inquired.

Gamora held up a few complex-looking weapons. “We will have plenty of fire-power,” she said. “Food, too. Wherever we are headed, it must be far away. It looks like this ship is stocked for a bout a few days journey.”

Rocket sat on the ground next to her and grabbed a rectangular package from the pile of food. He tore it open with his teeth and found something that resembled a granola bar. He took a bite. “Huh, not bad.” He held it out to Gamora. “Want some?”

She took it and thanked him. They passed the food between themselves, each taking a bite until it was gone. Rocket tossed the wrapper aside and they sat in silence for a few minutes before Rocket worked up the courage to ask: “You mad at Quill for all this?”

“Mad?” she repeated. “I am furious.”

He chuckled. “That’s Quill for ya.”

Gamora thought about it. “Yes, that  _ is  _ him. I think I am getting very tired of his behavior. Have you...” she trailed off for a moment. Talking to Rocket had never seemed so easy, and suddenly, she was compelled to unload her worries onto him. She continued: “Have you noticed that he has changed?”

“Whaddya mean?”

“He is... impatient. More so than he normally is. I feel like he has been waiting for something.”

“Like what?”

Gamora shook her head. “I do not know. Maybe I am looking too much into it.”

“No,” Rocket replied. “I think your, uh, worries are rightful. You’ve got great instincts.”

“Thank you, Rocket.”

He looked up at her, eyes shining. “You have a lot of great qualities. I don’t think Quill always tells you that, but it’s true. Everyone admires you.”

Gamora returned his gaze, her heart swelling. In just seconds, Rocket had made her feel more appreciated than Peter  ever  had. She turned to him and tried to think of a decent reply but could not. Nothing could really match the kindness Rocket had just shown her. She had always been rather impersonal and unfeeling. But Rocket made her heart flutter like it hadn’t before. She leaned closer to him. “I... admire you, too.”

Rocket didn’t need any further encouragement than her sultry gaze and parted lips . He  quickly  closed the gap between them and kissed her. Gamora’s hands went to his fur and she tangled her fingers in it, pulling him so that he was mostly on her lap. Their kiss grew deeper, tongues lapping in and out of each other’s mouths. Rocket gently held the side of her face as they kissed.

When they finally broke apart for air, Rocket grinned. “You really do admire me, huh?”

“Oh, shut up,” Gamora said, but she laughed. She kissed him again. “Yes, I do.”

Rocket’s paw slid from her cheek to her shoulder. “Should we get back on track or...?”

“Soon,” she said. Gamora carefully positioned Rocket so that he could straddle her without hurting his leg. “Kiss me again.”

“Gladly.” Rocket grabbed her face and kissed her hard. Their hands became restless soon after and began to explore each other’s bodies. Rocket cupped one of her breasts as he kissed her. Gamora held the back of his neck with one hand and trailed down his chest with the other, getting close to his bulge. 

She pulled away for a moment and asked: “How long can auto-pilot run for?”

Rocket grinned. “As long as we need it to.”

Their mouths devoured each other’s once more as the ship drifted further into space. 


End file.
